Left Field

Headline: Safety standards on COAG list

The Australian Financial Review, 1 July 2008, Ben Potter, p.5

The Council of Australian Governments meeting this Thursday is expected to produce national standards for chemicals, trade measurement and product safety.

COAG is also expected to consider an accelerated timetable on occupational health and safety standards, but business groups have expressed concern that political will is eroding.

On Sale

Sydney Morning Herald, 22 June 2008, Sophie Hart, p.s16

Corban & Blair has discounts on items including photo frames and writing journals. Thursday, 8am-8pm, Friday, 8am- 7pm, Saturday, 9am-5pm and Sunday, 10am-4pm. 2 Victoria Street, Lewisham, (02) 95600122.

Stylish ready-made houses with green bent

Australian Financial Review, 23 May 2008, Helen Hawkes, p.19

Some owners are finding it increasingly appealing to use "Ikea-like" prebuilt homes, such as those offered by Melbourne’s Prebuilt and New Zealand’s iPad, as permamnent residences or even guest accommodation in their backyards. Many buildings are designed in consultation of architectural firms such as Pleysier Perkins, Collins & Turner, and Susi Leeton Architects. Rob Colquhoun, the entrepreneur behind Prebuilt, has a background with Lend Lease.

Developers seek Sydney input

Australian Financial Review, 27 March 2008, Matthew Cranston, p.57

Urban Taskforce hosted a lunch yesterday with NSW Planning Minister Frank Sartor and 300 industry representatives to discuss Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 strategic plan. While the plan was generally well received there was some scepticism regarding the ambitious scope and the likelihood of achieving the necessary federal-state cooperation, funding and leadership to achieve some of its loftier goals. Greg Smith of Grant Samuel Property questioned the lack of emphasis on office users, who constitute the bulk of the CBD population.

Clover's city is going green

Daily Telegraph, 27 March 2008, Justin Vallejo, p.9

The Sydney 2030 strategic plan calling for environmentally sustainable development would drive the city's economy on a scale rivalled only by the coal-powered industrial revolution, Sydney City Mayor Clover Moore said.

The strategic plan calls for gas-powered green transformers to be built across the city to reduce carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030. Under the plan, every resident would live within a 10-minute walk of fresh food markets, childcare and essential health, leisure and cultural services.

Industry call for national urban focus

Australian Financial Review, 6 March 2008, Mark Phillips, p.62
Delegates at the Urban Development Institute of Australias' national conference in Melbourne this week have been told the new Federal Labor Government should become more involved with planning cities. The UDIA says it is possible to plan urban development until 2050 and calls for the government to restore a Better Cities style of program to guide infrastructure and housing.

A city bursting at the seams seeks solutions

Australian Financial Review, 4 March 2008, Mathew Dunckley, p.68
According to the most recent figures available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 272,000 people moved to Melbourne in the five years to the end of 2006 - more than any other capital city. This growth has vast implications for Victoria's capital, particularly in terms of infrastructure, housing, transport, water, education, and health. Planning Minister Justin Madden is looking for ways to release more land on the citys fringe, including the streamlining of planning processes. The Housing Industry Association expects a token increase in housing starts to 39,720. The Real Estate Institute of Victoria estimates there are just 4000 vacant houses across Melbourne. The Master Builders Association says more need to be built to keep up with the increasing demand.

Alas, Sydney, the poor cousin

The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 March 2008, 676 words,  David Humphries and Mark Coultan, p.1 Sydney has slipped behind other capital cities, particularly Melbourne, in quality of life and standards of governance, according to a consensus of expert opinions across government, planning, transport, education, business and the arts.

The round table, convened late last week by the Herald, painted Sydney as a vision-free zone paralysed by complacency, timidity and indolence, where government lacked courage, commitment, energy, imagination and sometimes probity, and where outdated bureaucracy was a bulwark against progress and innovation.
* Property Council - Ken Morrison, Centre for International Economics - Kerry Barwise, University of Technology Sydney - Glen Glazebrook,  Tourism and Transport Forum - Chris Brown

Creative city loses edge as jobs fall

The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 March 2008, Sherrill Nixon, p.5
The number of people employed in creative and cultural jobs - from actors and authors to dance teachers and ticket sellers - fell by 1 per cent in NSW between the 2001 and 2006 censuses, compared with 2 per cent growth nationally. The trend is a concern because the creative sector is seen as a gauge of a city's wellbeing, particularly in a tight labour market when highly skilled workers are eagerly sought. Jobs included under the banner 'cultural and creative' included architects, journalists, singers, interior decorators, picture framers, printers, librarians and museum staff.

National quest for some great ideas

Daily Telegraph, 11 February 2008, p.72
A nationwide search for new products has been launched, with the achievements of innovators to be recognised by INNOVIC's 2008 Next Big Thing awards. INNOVIC is a not-for-profit company supported by the Victorian Government. Applications close on March 14 and entry forms are on www.nextbigthingaward.com